asphalt

/ˈæsfælt; ˈæʃ-; -fɔːlt/

noun

1.

any of several black semisolid substances composed of bitumen and inert mineral matter. They occur naturally in parts of America and as a residue from petroleum distillation: used as a waterproofing material and in paints, dielectrics, and fungicides

2.

a mixture of this substance with gravel, used in road-surfacing and roofing materials

3.

(modifier) containing or surfaced with asphalt

verb

4.

(transitive) to cover with asphalt

Derived Forms

asphaltic, adjective

Word Origin

C14: from Late Latin aspaltus, from Greek asphaltos, probably from a-1 + sphallein to cause to fall; referring to its use as a binding agent

early 14c., "hard, resinous mineral pitch found originally in Biblical lands," from Late Latin asphaltum, from Greek asphaltos "asphalt, bitumen," probably from a non-Greek source, possibly Semitic [Klein, citing Lewy, 1895]. Another theory holds it to be from Greek a- "not" + *sphaltos "able to be thrown down," taken as verbal adjective of sphallein "to throw down," in reference to a use of the material in building.

Meaning "paving composition" dates from 1847 and its popular use in this sense established the modern form of the English word, mostly displacing asphaltum, asphaltos. As a verb meaning "to cover with asphalt," from 1872.